Realty One

Friday, March 2, 2018

SCRUFFY'S THIS N' THAT

Welcome to Friday. Here are the usual weekly thoughts running through my muddled mind. As always, they come in no particular order:

- The CKHS should be the place to be tonight if you are not heading to Evraz Place to check out what is happening at the Brier. The U of R Cougars women's basketball team takes on the U of S to determine which team will win Canada West. It's a battle of two of the top five teams in Canada and it could very well be a showdown of what we will see March 11 when the USports Canadian final is held at the CKHS.

- Can Regina pack the gym for this game? It would be great to see. Cougars Head Coach Dave Taylor says his team has walked into a very tough environment for this game the last two years when it was played in Saskatoon. One would expect nothing less from the Huskies and their faithful. If they can do it there, we can do it here. Head Coach Dave Taylor says there is a band playing right behind them and the entire football team is yelling from behind their bench. We can do that!

- Hey Rams, hey Thunder, come out and enjoy some basketball!!! Hey Regina, come out and enjoy some basketball tonight! Hey Moose Jaw, come to Regina and enjoy some basketball. The same goes for you Weyburn, Balgonie, Lumsden and Southey. Let's make this place a zoo tonight!! In fact, let's make it a zoo tonight and let's keep it that way for the USports Canadian Championship which goes at the CKHS next week. Keep it diplomatic and professional though!

- Canada's 2nd biggest sporting festival begins tonight. The Tim Hortons Brier and the famed Brier Patch rivals Grey Cup week in every sense. People from across the country that love the game converge to make new relationships, renew old ones, spend a lot of time at the Brier Patch and enjoy the curling. The next week will be a lot of fun at the Brandt Centre. Whether you are a curling fan or not, it will be the place to be. Hope to see many of you down there as the week goes along. As for who wins, I am guessing we see a Brad hoist the trophy---that being Gushue or Jacobs. I also think Saskatchewan's Steve Laycock will do quite well as the home rink and will make the championship pool or the top 8. If they were to somehow make the final and win it, it would be quite a moment at the Brandt Centre.

- The CFL free agent waters have gotten awfully quiet. As it gets that way, the questions for the Riders remain. Who is going to be the new left tackle if Bruce Campbell doesn't sign with the club? Is Sam Hurl the replacement for Henoc Muamba? Will the team get a better song for the 4th quarter stretch than the current one (OK, it just may be me asking that one!)? Will a Canadian receiver be used in a trade to get that sought after LT or MLB seeing you have quite a few and if so, who is it? I also still want to know who the odd man is out at running back after the Jerome Messam signing. I just can't see Messam, Trent Richardson and Cameron Marshall all in the backfield.

- The NFL now says Dez Bryant's playoff catch in 2014 should have been ruled a catch. Yeah, that makes Cowboys fans feel better. The NFL didn't have to say anything about Golden Tate's catch against Green Bay in the endzone to give the Seahawks a last play Monday Night Football win not being a catch. Of course, we all know it was! By the way, I'm all for the idea of making a pass interference call 15 yards. The chuck and hope play has become common in the NFL. If they do it south of the border, do it up here as well.

- The eight year anniversary of "The Golden Goal" scored by Sidney Crosby to give Canada gold at the Vancouver Olympics hit this week. The debate rages on as to whether or not that was the biggest goal in Canadian hockey history. To me, its still Paul Henderson in 1972. If those two goals are numbers 1 and 2. What is number three?

- Will NHL players go back to the Olympics in 2022? NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said this week the decision to not go to Pyeongchang was the right one because the interest level wasn't as high in this year's tournament. Gee, I wonder what the reason for that might have been? Really Gary? Bettman also said this week that if and when Seattle gets into the league they should have the same type of players at their disposal for the expansion draft that Vegas had. I am sure that makes every team in the league not named Vegas Golden Knights happy.

- When is the last time an NHL player scored five goals? The Sobeys/Safeway "Shoot to Win" contest on NHL games is just ridiculous. In this day, we hardly see any four goal games. Have there been any this year? At least give the entrant a realistic chance at winning the million dollars.

- Congrats to Ethan Bear for making it to the show! The member of the Ochapowace First Nation did that with a lot of friends and family in attendance at Rogers Place for the Oilers/Nashville game. Many were shown wearing his "74" jersey as well. I am guessing more Ethan Bear jerseys have been sold in the past couple of days and will be sold this weekend than Ilo Pakarinen and Ryan Strome jerseys have been sold all year. The kid has a bright future in front of him. Here's hoping he sticks around for the rest of the season as the Oilers try and right the ship after a disastrous season this year.

- Eugene Melnyk is to the Ottawa Senators what Ken King is to the Calgary Flames. Both just have to go away for the good of their team. It just astounds me as to where Ottawa is this year after being so close to the Stanley Cup final. They lost Game 7 of the East final to Pittsburgh in triple overtime!!

- If the first day is any indication, it would appear as if Seattle is well on their way to getting an NHL team. That does not make this Seahawks fan, closet Mariners fan, and some day a Sonics fan again sad. A sports weekend or two will be spent in the Pacific Northwest. I really didn't think Seattle had the appetite for the NHL, but it appears as if they do and if the NHL is coming, the NBA will return as well. That is a certainty!

- I know plenty of NHL personnel will be in Regina for the Memorial Cup. Would it be too much to ask if Wayne Gretzky will be here? This Oilers fan would obviously relish the opportunity to sit in a room and hear him speak.

- What am I missing? Some group predicted the Blue Jays would win the 2nd wild-card spot in the American League and an article on MLB.com says they are being overlooked in the AL East. ???? I really don't see this team being .500. The starting rotation isn't as solid as people say and already there is a question mark about Marcus Stroman. Russell Martin and Troy Tulowitzki aren't getting any younger. Was Justin Smoak's season a one year anomaly or can they expect another big season from him. How many games are you going to get from Devon Travis. Who leads off? How was the bullpen improved? Curtis Granderson, Randal Grichuk and Aldemys Diaz are not getting this team into the A-L East equation ahead of the Yankees and Red Sox. Cleveland will be strong, Minnesota will be strong, the Astros aren't going anywhere, Seattle and the Angels will be better. Sorry, I don't see that team winning more than 75 games this season.

- That's all I got. Have a great weekend. Hope to see ya at the Brier, Brier Patch or the University--especially the latter!

Reality check Scruffy. Nobody wants your Cdn receiver so called "talent". Bagg is 33 & had the worst year of his career statistically. Look it up. While you're at it why don't you look up the other guys, outside Harty who you just got. Amachie - UNdrafted, Picton & Stanford your 5th & 8th round picks indicating teams weren't knocking down the doors to get them & Radford picked in the 6th round by the Als. What have they done to date - nothing. Haven't been used by the Riders. As for Bailey, he was booted out of Edmonton, signed by Mtl and booted out of there and landed in Regina where he is seldom used by Jones who had him in Edmonton for 2 years & didn't use him there much. Put all of them in a sack & it won't get you a LT or LB. Just because the Riders have 7 Nationals doesn't mean they have depth. Jones doesn't play them. Stanford got in 18 games & didn't get one pass thrown his way. These aren't a whole bunch of high draft choices except for Bailey & well, that's already been covered. Really, give your head a shake if anyone is dumb enough to give you a Muamba or decent MLB or, even worse, a LT for one of these guys.

The whole Canadian scene is pathetic, they should just fold all 7 teams and let Bettman squirm. See how long his u.s. teams would last then without equalization. Money, and yet he doesn’t want more canadian money as Quebec sits empty. That’s hard to believe he’s not all over that one. As long as he’s there no Canadian team will ever win another Stanley cup. Take that to the bank.

Umm, reality check. If your going to talk big you better at least be right. Stanford was released by the Riders early in the season then brought back after Demski and Bailey were lost for the season. Understandably he was a back-up and only saw mop up action.

Can sure see "Scruffy" is all excited about the Regina Patsies on here without a word being said about them . I must give him a Pat On The Back. "Why mention a Losing team that will get knocked out of WHL playoffs ( IF THEY MAKE IT , and won't even get a Smell in the Memorial Cup. "Good On You Scruffy" !.

Ummm, good looking & wrong. If Stanford was released by the Riders and ONLY brought back after Demski & Bailey was lost, then how does that refute my argument about how good he is? It only supports it. And if I'm wrong, present some facts as to what exactly makes them good. Let's take Bagg out of the equation except to say he had his worst season ever, except the one he only played 3 games due to injury, & Picton as well as he hasn't any appearances. So the other 5, Amachie, Bailey, Harty, Radford & Stanford have 111 CFL games to their credit (the equivalent of 6 seasons + a couple of games) & together have caught 78 passes for 934 yards. BTW what happened to #1 pick St. John who was supposed to be the LT when drafted? What happened to #2 last year, Cameron Judge, the can't miss LB? Why are you still looking for a LT & LB? Play them. Why waste a "valuable" National receiver or 5 to get a LT? Why waste that impressive "depth"?

If it were not for Gary Bettman then NHL hockey in Canada with the exception of Toronto and Montreal would have been long gone and forgotten about. You could also forget about Winnipeg getting their team back, Bettman could have steered the Atlanta franchise right to Kansas City if he wanted to.

Team Canada goals are passé. You talk to the people who were there the '72 series meant something then you look closer and I think they split the games 4-4 so how can they say they "won". 1987 that was hockey at it's absolutely finest and Lemieux's goal is the big one. The Russians couldn't play in the NHL at that time it was intense. 2002 you now have millionaires facing millionaires so who cares.

Seattle long ago should have had an NHL team they just could not get a rink. Again credit Wayne Gretzky for the sunbelt teams, but it's Bettman that allows Anahiem in which then compliments San Jose, LA, Vancouver and it's a natural fit. They've had hockey in the pacific northwest for 100 years. It will take off and be incredible.

Bettman is a Canada killer. He has been all for US teams and against any Canadian city applying for a franchise. No matter how you spin it. Also, all the rule changes he has overseen have spoiled hockey. Unless you have a team in the league, very few people watch the games. Junior or beer league teams are more interesting to watch

You are an optimist if you think Reginians support university sports. They are not sports fans. You are at Ram games, parents,girlfriend/boyfriends are the only spectators. The atmosphere is morbid. Kudos for trying but your city just isn't into it.

You're dead on about the jays scruffy. They are destined for the basement of the league. Their roster is basically a landfill of old washed up, injury riddled players. Their rotation and bullpen are as bad as it gets. They'll be lucky to win 70 games... They might not win a single game within their own division actually. They are outclassed to say the least!